Do you know where this is?

Sunday

Jan 13, 2013 at 6:00 AMJan 14, 2013 at 5:03 AM

Every 50 years, it seems, this section of Worcester needs to renew itself.

In the early 1960s, urban renewal was all the rage, and this block and the area around it was ripe for change. Pictured here in 1952, this neighborhood was already seeing changes as officials grappled with outdated traffic patterns. Cars parked in different directions speak to the confusion brought on by a city council directive changing the one-way nature of the street.

But within just five years of when this photo was taken, the buildings pictured here fell to the wrecking ball over a clear-cutting of the city’s downtown.

The demolition was part of a larger project that, once the buildings were gone, found a commercial enterprise willing to build something new in its place. The plan called for a commercial center, a motel, several office buildings, a gas station and other structures for the site.

Hint: That optimistic plan was only partly realized: The view of one side of this street now includes only parking lots.